The Proverbs 31 Wife - Week One

www.myproverbs31life.com

For the next 40-50 weeks on Wednesdays I will be sharing with you my journey to becoming (hopefully) a little more like the Proverbs 31 wife.  The book and website above are my inspiration.  I hope you read the book and you should definitely check out the website.  I will be using the discussion questions Sara wrote at the back of the book to guide my thoughts and actions each week and then sharing with you how well that went...or maybe not so well!  I hope that this or the book will inspire you as well, or if nothing else, you can learn from my mistakes.  Here we go!

I have done a Bible study on the Proverbs 31 wife, and of course have heard it preached about a few times in my life at different churches.  And I have to say, all it made me feel was like I was a big failure.  That's why this book gave me new hope.  Sara puts a human spin on the whole thing. It made me think that maybe I can do it.  Will I be exactly like Prov 31? No, but I can do my best.

Let's start at the beginning, who or what is the Proverbs 31 wife?

Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character

 ^10 [b]A wife of noble character who can find?
   She is worth far more than rubies.
¹¹ Her husband has full confidence in her
   and lacks nothing of value.
¹² She brings him good, not harm,
   all the days of her life.
¹³ She selects wool and flax
   and works with eager hands.
¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships,
   bringing her food from afar.
¹⁵ She gets up while it is still night;
   she provides food for her family
   and portions for her female servants.
¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;
   out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously;
   her arms are strong for her tasks.
¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable,
   and her lamp does not go out at night.
¹⁹ In her hand she holds the distaff
   and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
²⁰ She opens her arms to the poor
   and extends her hands to the needy.
²¹ When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
   for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
²² She makes coverings for her bed;
   she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
²³ Her husband is respected at the city gate,
   where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them,
   and supplies the merchants with sashes.
²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity;
   she can laugh at the days to come.
²⁶ She speaks with wisdom,
   and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household
   and does not eat the bread of idleness.
²⁸ Her children arise and call her blessed;
   her husband also, and he praises her:
²⁹ “Many women do noble things,
   but you surpass them all.”
³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
   but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
³¹ Honor her for all that her hands have done,
   and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

(from Biblegateway.com)

The discussion questions from the back of the book are: "What are your thoughts about the woman portrayed here?  Does she make you aspire to be like her?  Or do you feel discouraged before you get started?  Why?"

Gee, let's see.  I can't sew, I don't own a business, I don't stay up late at night working, I worry a lot...not much laughing at the days to come.  Yep, pretty much discouraged!  If I were to write a book about this passage I think the title would be The Proverbs 31 Wife: Is This Chick For Real?!

Given that, where do I even start?  Where I always do; with a calendar and colored pens.  Yes, I'm a little OCD or whatever you'd like to call it.  I have a calendar where I can see the whole month at one time and there are lines on each day and every type of thing I have to do is written in a different color.  For example, all appointments are in a light blue.  SO I can look over the month quickly and see that I have 3 appointments just by looking for that color.  I won't bore you with my whole color scheme, but it works for me.  The next tool is a plain spiral notebook...OK actually I like ones with pretty designs on the cover, but it can be a notebook like you buy for the kids at a back to school sale.

If I'm going to be like this chick at all, I've GOT to get organized.  Each day has one side of a piece of paper in the notebook.  Write down everything that needs done.  A little trick I've learned to make me feel some accomplishment is to write down tasks in smaller chunks. If I just wrote clean living room, then looked at all I had to do in there, I might give up and go hide in a good book.  For example, in stead of saying clean living room I make the following list:

Pick up and put away things lying around

clean off end table

clean off coffee table

pick up dog toys

dust 

vacuum

Yes it makes my list look longer, but I actually feel less overwhelmed because they are smaller tasks, and you feel pretty good when you get to cross something off.

I'll also list any errands that need to be done, and what I plan to cook that night, IF I'm cooking!  For some reason I feel more in control of my day when I do this, and if I feel that way I think I'm a little nicer person.  Not as grouchy or frustrated.

If I can stick to this routine, maybe I can be more like the Proverbs 31 wife.  Hmmm, maybe that's a big leap, but at least I have hope.  Of course it's only week one!  Let's see how I do!

Until Next Time.....

Franny